~ Financial suicide – every moment, until you quit!

Category Archives: Amway products review

Every now and then we see new products launched and lots of IBOs push hard for themselves and their team to ensure they have the latest offer at their shelf for self use and retail. It is indeed a great opportunity from a consumer perspective most of the time. However, all the offers do not increase product quantity for the same price, even though sometimes they do. The offers would also include a gift item which may or may not be useful for a particular IBO. But mostly, everyone is expected to have multiple number of products at home in the first week of launch.

I have no grudge against the company policy but I have problems with the way it is handled by LOS up lines on their downlines. Most of the up lines force their downlines to buy at least three pieces of products on each offer. Let us say there are offers launching by second week of the month, usually it happens during the second week only, IBOs are expected to buy. However, by first week every IBO is expected complete his personal 100 PV. The new offer products are told to be bought if you want to show your downlines as core. That should account for about 50 PV or even more, and you had already “put” your 100 PV in the beginning of the month. That considering the fact that, the existing products must at least last for more than couple of months you need to find customers to buy worth 150 PV. Quite understandable. But when a retail is completed you need to replace the products on your shelf! That means you buy again for anything that was sold to retail customers.

Then comes month end, and there is a goal to fight for. It may not be your own goal, it might be your LOS up line goal that you’re fighting for. Let us say he needs to re-qualify his 10,000 PV and he is short by 1500 on the last day of the month. I got a call in many months on or about 10 PM of the last day asking to put PVs. Many foolish IBOs, including myself, would belive that, someone else will also do for them. So “put” PV again. How much is the amount? I do not know but it could be about Rs 5,000-Rs 10,000! Without having any customer and literally no requirements to buy for themselves faithful IBOs put PVs and money with a blind hope of someone else replicating. When such things happen to IBOs, let us say next two months they fail to hit their own PV goal then comes mental trauma. What else do I need to do to succeed? This question was answered by my up line saying – ‘you’re on the right track, just keep doing the same, more and more’. Products will have offers, but IBOs need to use their brains while they swipe their credit cards.

I think biggest reason why many people still end up being sucked out in Amway because, they cannot simply quit. They have fear from everywhere! If you go and stand in front your great up line, he tells this is not the time you should quit. Success is round the corner and possibly the famous story of a farmer who dug the land so much so that, he was fed up and sold it to some businessman. And the businessman took about a month’s time to dig gold out of the same land. Honestly speaking, that is yet another plain lie from your beloved up line. It happened to me when I went there and said – I quit, and I was throwing out all the CDs and books on his floor telling him that I would never come back. But he continued to tell me that, I was going from freedom to slavery and started talking negative stuff such as my wife not going to work, company throwing me out of job, so many negatives!

Anything outside Amway was negative and I was ready to quit seeing enough of Amway opportunity! Finally I quit and now my life is so full of activities and people around the world are still there. I do have enough to spend my time the way I want. I enjoy reading news and following sports and also love my family time – I had missed all of them in two years with so-called dream-builders. Let us come to money part and for me it is the single most reason, to do or not to do which is called business. I do not spend on expensive FMCG anymore means I have at least 30% savings right away! For example, for Rs 26 to Rs 30 we get very good bath soaps weighing about 100gms and 75g Persona used to cost Rs 40 and it was boasted that, BMW cannot be compared with Maruti Alto. Why do we need to spend so much on day-to-day products.

I am still alive without supplements, and we enjoy more fruits and vegetables as we do not spend Rs 100 on daily basis unlike being core IBOs. If you are spending more than Rs 50,000/- brand, longevity, perfect performance and stuff do matter. But FMCG experience is always supposed to be with various products and we are not in jail to have same soap, shampoo, tooth paste forever! My wife is happy to try out new products in cosmetics and not the ever so same luxuries which we never wanted. We can sleep at night 10 O’Clock and no guilty feeling, we can have food wherever we want. I can travel by bus without having to search for contacts and do not have to feel guilty if I do not get one. Especially first few days the feeling was awesome – kind of out of jail, out of restrictions!

I do not have to share my finances, my head to toe decisions and stuff with my up line anymore. I do not have to work to impress my up line, and do not have to bother duplication anymore. I still read books and they are not recommended by system, I attend seminars that are not based on selling tickets, I say hello to new people but no intentions to show the plan, sign up to Amway. I listen to teachings but they are case by case basis. I can decide to download free e-books on the net, watch YouTube for learning new things and I do not have to worry about down lines duplicating, because Amway systems do not allow you to copy CDs without buying, and even if the e-books are available free of cost, still IBOs are expected to buy. I do not have to say harsh words to anyone who did not become customer or sign up for Amway business. Now I know that business is a duplication of behaviour true but not every activity. For example, Henry Ford, never knew everything about car – complicated engineering to complete designing – but he knew how to get form an organisation that could fill every gap. In Amway if you do not know something as an IBO, your down lines may ignore the same and your business may not run! I want to tell that, being rich is not the only thing in life, and even if it is so, Amway is not the only way to achieve it.

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I firmly believe that there are always positive and negative sides for anything. Lets us have brief look at what Amway affiliated systems such as, TEAM, N21, WWDB or BWW in terms of impact on the success of an IBO. When a prospect signs up as an IBO there is high chance that he must have been approached by an IBO who is already following a particular system. It is obvious that the prospect ends up getting affiliated to same system that his up line IBO belongs to. I wanted to talk about this simply because I could find enough instances on the internet where a few the former IBOs told that they went platinum without being in the system and when I was an IBO, I was told that inside the ‘system’ 100% success rate outside the system 0% success rate.

To certain extent I agree that, systems are necessary for an IBO. For example, the system keeps the IBOs united to be called as an organisation. If you do not have a set of people who are so-called successful, there is no way you can show someone who, are already in this form of direct marketing business. As an IBO being fresh, you may not know how to talk appropriately about the business. A new IBO may find it difficult to explain to prospects on his own unless learnt and the learning may come from the one who has done it before. Similarly it matters as to how the message is getting conveyed to a prospect, if you do not know one, mostly you end up sponsoring none. Therefore, in the initial stages of an IBO it does help to have a tried and tested method that works and taught and learnt with enthusiasm.

However, why there are so many IBOs who quit always come back and start complaining about the system, and of course a little about Amway too. It is because the system does make you to do things which IBOs do not want in the name of success probability and most cases because of the design of the business IBOs end up not making any money or mostly losing too much over a period of time. IBOs are expected to attend every meeting – Weekly Open meeting, so called weekly PACE meeting at your up lines house, phone meeting, product training, monthly BBS, twice a year mega functions, all at their own expense even though while recruiting up line tells that, you get into the business and only expense is product which you use for home. So on the face of it no one knows all the expenses involved. Systems also ask you to buy books and CDs regularly so that you can loan it to new IBOs or offer to prospects when you show the plan. Some groups also ask IBOs to give samples when they go for demo.

Next comes up line counselling, cover dish and so on provided you are doing everything that is told. Any time your up line calls you, you should almost fall on his feet with agreement for whatever he says. He says switch job, do not take up oversees assignments in your job, always buy expensive branded apparel and other stuff and so on. Everything he tells you do it and CDs continue to say that, if you are not able to do the business that’s your fault. So by now IBO must have spent so much money being core and made really nothing because, end of the day, Amway products are too expensive to be called FMCG – I call them luxurious FMCG – and they do last more than a month and hence you need to find new customers every month. This is when a core IBO who wanted to make money from Amway leaves. Of course system is necessary in initial stages but not to an extent you attend 52 into number of weekly meetings, plus many other issues mentioned just before. Core IBOs either must have lost the ability to think independently or else they are out of the business soon enough. Because if you have some brain to think independently next moment you would quit Amway business or for that matter any MLM on earth.

IBOs talk about making owners in the business, but why is that they take 10 years to find six owners? And that too do business with all teaching and FMCG sector, Hilarious! Time multiplication does not happen even after five years? Truth is, whenever you get to certain pin – platinum or above, they claim ‘last couple of years’. So you can be there without becoming platinum for years with all expenses and once you become platinum, start waving hands in meeting about your success in couple of years! He talked about public franchising cost and cannot duplicate. Amway business can create zero tangible assets, PV goes to nil every month last midnight and they compare with McDonald’s. Franchising fees is an advance and because the brand is already built it is simple to operate as well.

Presenter talks about the margin for the business where money goes in to advertisers and shops on FMCG and now to your pockets. Then why is only 20% is distributed amongst the IBOs when he claimed 30% is manufacturing cost for Amway and that too company hardly spends on advertising sells concentrated products and all of them are either equal or more expensive than market competitors?

When did Amway start giving you all the products, when you talk about monthly expenses, it is obvious that you will buy home care, personal care (which Amway has, not compulsorily health and beauty), grocery, vegetables, milk and other eatables and to some extent apparels. All these are supposed to be part of whatever the monthly expenditure estimate a prospect gives. But in reality Amway gives only few of them and creates a new market in health, nutrition beauty as if you would live without them and you IBOs also buy others outside Amway. So this is the first reason why your credit card or monthly expenses go up straight after you join Amway.

Referring six people is told on the plan but never in reality, as all new guys will sponsored in depth. Reason given is you have to build the leg then only you can move, so you end having depth no profitability and if the depth fails, which is likely because as per 80:20 rule, 6 persons I sponsored in depth 1 or 2 will only get serious and you are already at least three months in Amway! No profits but spending on system would also have started. And he talked about being platinum, my working up line did not reach the position in five years in the business as was aware. Think of all the costs, presenter talks about 150 families succeeding every month! I know it was up loaded in 2009 and by now there should be at least 7200 silvers and above in the past four years! Stunning estimate sir, I salute your statistics of 150 succeeding every month to silver or up 🙂

Exceptional, he talks also about making money generations together, like Albert Einstein 🙂 I really recommend all readers to go through Business Reference Guide for how income plan works. The word Amway is a sin to say, so do not utter, he was comfortable with the system name! Poor Amway, they do produce and take care of customer service and government rules court cases everything and does not get noticed at all in the entire presentation. Products explained at the last point where most people do not give attention, unfortunately the cycle should go this way Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

P.S.: I browsed through the web and got publicly available videos on YouTube and I do not have any vested interest to promote or otherwise someone else’s contents.

Here you go! One more instance where the most acclaimed IBOs, or I can call them cults will have tough time defending. Of course there have been many instances in the past that Amway cults either asked you to close your eyes for all the legal issues that Amway suffered or they have been ably defending such charges with greater degree of analogies or some system taught statements. Now the above mentioned case gives an opportunity to ask questions to your up-line cults in terms of illegal activities carried out by Amway. I do not understand one thing, how all so-called educated cults in Amway defend legal cases such as this.

“If You Were an Amway/Quixtar Distributor Any Time
Between January 1, 2003 and February 21, 2012,
You Could Get Benefits from a Class Action Settlement.”

The above line is directly taken from the website which has clearly mentioned what benefits you get for the losses suffered through Amway or product pricing or from the educational systems. If anyone can prove the expenses incurred are through Amway, such as bills or credit card statements you can get your money back. Of course the compensation for losses can be requested only till the 17 August 2012. The best sentence in the entire notice is “You do not need to provide documentation to receive free products.”

The above sentence clarifies Amway products are expensive, for its quality and they do not form to be luxurious products. I suppose court understands that, this is a scam because it has made it clear its stance regarding Business Support Materials and they’re literally of no use in real life. If anyone interested can go through the website about more information in terms of legal implications the Amway-Quixtar suffered. The case makes it 100% clear that Amway is a scam, people are drowned into it and there are people who could prove it. I want Amway or any MLM cults to answer a few questions now –

CDs, Books and functions are three pillars of the business and no one makes money in it – why did court asked to compensate for Business Support Materials which had disclaimers in it, even then it is still illegal?

Ours is most divine system and we truly belive in helping people – none of the BSMs help anywhere so should be compensated as per court of law?

Come to the meeting/function, read books and listen to tapes it will help you outside Amway! If you were an IBO during 9yrs time the helping BSM companies are bound to compensate, why?

Products are either concentrated, value for money or market direct competitors – why the court of law has asked Amway-Qixtar to give free of cost for anyone who complains being an IBO any time during 2003-2011? luxury and robbery are different 🙂

Where did the product demonstrators and trainers go when court ruled to give free products

Why did court appoint the lawyer for all IBOs and all are paid thorough settlement meaning Quixtar pays for your lawyers as well?

How Amways finances will not get affected in turn why will not IBOs be penalised because of the multi-billion dollar settlement?

Of course I am not here to mislead anyone here, court did not decide who is right but Amway settled for hefty payments like this! If you were right why at such a high level you did not defend? In many places poor people do not get justified because they do not have the shelf life to really fight against the big entities. A company which is claimed to have presence in more than 80 plus countries and cash rich net worth of more than ten billion dollars ready to settle? Can all freedom-hoppers explain why aren’t they gutsy enough to defend being right and legitimate? If Amway is paying so much money I can understand why the products in India are getting price hike 🙂

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I have been following a few awards received by Amway India with respect to Corporate Social Responsibility. I have nothing against the company or the people who adjudicate, but I have a few questions regarding the implementation of CSR in reality.

Amway products are in FMCG – Fast Moving Consumer Goods, which mean are products that are sold quickly and at relatively low-cost (find the details at Wikipedia). There are a few explanations given for the pricing by many distributors and also Amway product tutorials/guides. Everyone talks about the higher pricing and in fact I have mentioned about increase in prices in one of my other posts. Let us talk about their defense, concentrated products. Agreed, but the problem is when your advertisement costs were nil, very little even today, and you just mix water in the concentrated home care products why the products do not are not cheaper than market products. For that matter, anything bought on MSRP is always costlier than any products and that is with due consideration to quality as well. Every IBO is forced directly or indirectly to buy products and sell the expensive FMCG products.

Next defense is longevity, any products which last more than three months do not come under Fast Moving! If you start using dish-washer Rs 350 for half liter for one month with a family of four people then it looks a concern to be addressed. Even a toothpaste should last four times the one in market, then how do IBOs get new customers for their license to be a ‘Direct Distributor’? And there enough people who end up wasting the products after using the same home-care bottle product-piece for months together. Let us talk about supplements and skin care premium products which are told to be value for money. If it is only to buy based on need how someone will buy skin refinishing products worth more than Rs 2000 and also store for a mostly non-existent retail prospects. Why should every IBO buy/consume more than Rs 150 worth of supplements everyday? How come all these do not become a part of Corporate Social Responsibility? One simple dilution bottle costs more than Rs 30 which should be bought separately to use any home care products?

OK now let us come to so-called quality and money back guarantee etc. How many system followers really give the product back to the company, not sure any one does it at all, because it sets a bad precedent! If business is for everyone why not products are for everyone. So called value for money products as well as India direct competition products are costlier than any other. We really need to define this business a little different here. Business is for someone who has enough money to spend anything offered by company and for anyone who never bothered for making losses! We need to understand one thing, FMCG products quality should stop at certain point and price cannot go beyond certain point because – any asset can be expensive and to be used for long time, but not a high-priced day-to-day usage product, FMCG need not be a luxury!

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Whenever there is a new product launch, we need to understand a few things. First and foremost, do I need them? Most of the up-lines promote Amway Products to their down lines in a few ways which are very important. When I was in the business, my up-line told me to use a multi-vitamin-multi-mineral. OK, I used it gave it to my wife and a few others in the family. What next? Listen to more CDs, and come to more functions! What do they say? Take maximum number of supplements, then you will feel good and you can promote to others. So we started taking more than Rs 100 per day of supplements. In fact some of the speakers were so shameless to say, if you consume more you can make others consume, but there is no phrase ‘is it really needed?’. So we started taking so much of supplements and after sometime I realised, if I have to sleep for maximum of six hours every day for 365 days year I need everything that is there in their store! I do not say you should not take any of those supplements but you should see if it is really needed.

Then came so-called skin care, you should not call them cosmetics, because it can be used by men also 🙂 My wife was not that keen on such products, but again submit to up-line and they told us, you are already promoting supplements so effectively, and therefore if you use them, you can promote! So first month buy for yourself and see if you can promote. Next month they came and told us, you need to have all the products one or two spare with you, so that you can give it to customers immediately. So buy again! End of the month night 11 o’clock your up-line calls you and says, ‘hi, we are fighting for one of our up-line platinum’s goal, and we were expecting some 200PV from you, so far it is about 60PV can you see, if you can place a few more orders, I will help you to retail them’. Do you guys understand what happened in last two months, phenomenal way of ‘product promotion’.

Amway India is launching number of products this year. About six nutritional (?) supplements and a few more in skin care category and rebranding of homecare products and raising prices more than once for a few of the products, in last 12months. When there is new product launch, every ‘Core IBO’ is expected to buy by default. When there is a new Artistry offer even if you have 4sets, you should still bu new one because your downline who have not bought it can buy seeing yours! What to do with old ones, those things are common, you need to retail old stocks quickly. I heard somewhere that, if you can sell Amway products you can sell a BMW as well. (Not to be happy that Amway is equal to BMW, but consider what profit margins you get in BMW, even for equal turnover!) Products do last long enough, so how can you ‘quickly retail’ the product which lasts for more than a year every month, Amway marketing plan and the reality are so different! This is indeed a vicious circle, new products only mean new purchases and not more sales, you can sell them only at 5percent success for new customers and old customers already have it and not used up completely!

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We had lots and lots of talk regarding Amway India success last year. Especially the story of some huge sales last year increasing numbers etc. Now we seem to have a few more news that need to be looked from different angles. First is Amway India setting up a new plant on its own for Nutritional Supplements and beauty products. As per the news item (giving you the link below) Amway India products are not manufactured by them but the contract vendors.

I have always been told by my up-line and the system about Amway being cash rich, company, some $10.9 billion or some crap and also Forbes listing etc. My up-line also told me about the Amway – the fair thing etc as if Amway is a huge company and also with or without you they will succeed and so on. If Amway were to be a fair company why are the prices soaring in India? Literally IBOs are sucked out to buy all costly products. If they had so much money, why did it take so long to invest in India. Simple truth is they are not doing something for nothing! They wanted to make sure that there enough IBO cults before starting their own unit! Because they have established everything in terms of IBO infrastructure and cult development systems are very much in place now they can have their own manufacturing plant but do not have to worry in terms of pricing, for that matter they can start using the word – Swadeshi – meant, home country. I know there has been money back guarantee on products but how many system following cults have the guts to give the used product back and take the money?

All that I can see is, Amway is ready to sweep India in the near future. Amway has already been successful to get the Government backing and is the important member of IDSA – Indian Direct Selling Association. They have grown big enough to build the cultism and are ready to do arm wrestling with everyone in the country.

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IBOs in India are in for a very turbulent time! Home care products price was increased earlier this year and we are hearing news of re-launching home-care products with go-green branding. This move is good for Amway but difficult for IBOs as the price for all of them are also set for another steep hike. If you are active in the business then you need to purchase high-priced new branded/labelled product irrespective of your existing stock. ‘You cannot be selling something outdated’ for that matter you do not give a right impression to have old products at display in you hose first of all! So buy forcefully, again, if you are thinking about cost this is a very small ‘investment’ but how will your team buy if you do not buy… (so on and so forth).

There is another agricultural adjuvant and that is in for about 50% price hike which is already justified! All the best to guys, common – are you fired up? Excited? Hooooooo keep the atmosphere warming clap.. keep going…..

Remember to check your finances when you get time 🙂

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Recently Amway India launched old product clearance sale! It did not make a difference to me first up. However when I used my brain (no more ‘Educative CDs, Books, Functions and Associations) I realized a simple thing – all products are not getting cleared off! They include highly promoted core-line and non-core-line catalogue products. How come they are not sold? It shows ‘Not Available’ in the website, means some of the godown and it is up for inventory clearing. Then what happens to so many up-line promotions, such as first couple of days only for platinums and so on… The problem is some of the supplements were part of it! So consume them or sell outdated products because you do not have to miss any ‘promotion’. Do you know who is the best leader? – the one who is excellent at following already a good leader (up-line, always!) and promotes every other events successfully!

And there is another ‘promotion’! by two half liter of home care products at a price of single one liter pack. What intentions should this have? Simple; either the inventory carrying of old stocks is more expensive than giving it away at lesser price or it is another easy way to make forced sales! A bit needs to explained about forced sales. When you need a product which could last until you can use, you will buy larger packs which is already cheaper to smaller pack which has higher cost per unit of use. Then you reduce the smaller pack to make it equal to larger pack makes no difference for personal usage buyer who is already buying larger pack. So what to do with smaller pack at reduced price means what, you need to sell each of them because you can say (beg to buy) “sir/ma’m this small one very cheap now, why don’t you try (buy) it?…” So all ‘inactive’ downlines would have faced tough with above promotions. Any comments?